Posting tray



Feb. 7, 1956 J. D. LEAR POSTING TRAY Original Filed April 10. 1951 Joseph 17. Lear, w

(Ittomeg POSTING TRAY Joseph D. Lear, Silver Creek, N. Y.,assignor to Posting Equipment Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y. e

2 Claims. (Cl. 129-16) This application is a division of my prior application Serial No. 220,156, filed April 10, 1951, now Patent No.

- 2,664,898, January 5, 1954.

This invention relates to filing trays of the type em ployed to hold removable sheets, such as are used in conjunction with machine posting of accounts and records. In oflice equipment of this nature, it is customary to provide the tray or drawer with pivotally mounted follower or compressor plates, at least one of which is longitudinally adjustable, and which may be swung to an open position when it is desired to gain access to the sheets, and to a closed compressive position to retain the cards when the tray is not in use. i

The divided subject matter to which the present appli cation is addressed relates to a novel and improved drop side construction for a posting tray, and accordingly this specification will be restricted to that portion of the parent application wherein such invention was originally described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of the tray, which is shown with a portion of a bottom plate broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, with the open position of the pivoted side wall shown in broken lines, and with the follower plates removed;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the front of the tray, further illustrating parts of the side wall controlling mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the tray comprises a rectilinear bottom plate 11 formed with spacedrunners 12 and with a marginal upstanding flange 13, of which one side portion 13a is provided with a hinge element. A side wall 14 is pivotally mounted to the portion 13a, and an opposite side wall 15, and front and back walls 16 and 17, are welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the remaining portions of the flange 13. These side walls may be finished with trim strips 18, and the front and back walls are also finished with angularly shaped trim strips 19 which extend a slight distance inwardly of the tray body. The front and back walls 16 and 17 are also provided with handles 21, byrmeans of which the tray may be readily carried between a storage vault and a work table. The end walls are also provided, adjacent the pivoted side wall 14, with angle plates 22 which provide stops or rests for the wall 14, when the latter is in its upright position.

The inner surface of the bottom plate 11 is provided with spaced inverted channels 23 and 24, which support the sheets contained in the tray. These channels serve as card supporting shelves, and they are removably retained by screws 25, extending through supporting and spacing collars 26. The upper surfaces of the channels 23 and 24 may be slightly roughened, to minimize slippage of the sheets. The axial portion of the bottom 11 is fitted with a channel member 27, provided with inturned flanges 28, which constitutes a housing and guide for a longitudinally adjustable back follower and compressor. It may be noted at this point that the guideway 27 is spaced from United States PatentO 2,733,718 Patented Feb. 7, 1956 the front end wall 16, as indicated by the reference numetal 29, to facilitate assembly.

The pivoted. side wall 14 is'retained in both upright and dropped positions by means including latch plates 31, welded to the wall adjacent the ends thereof. These plates, as shown .in Fig. 2, are. of generally arcuate configuration, and their bottom margins are formed with outwardly turned flanges 32 and downwardly extending latch fingers 33. In the upright position of the wall 14,,the fingers 33 engage over the extremitiesof a latch bar 35, which is mounted on the bottom wall 11, below the channel 24,011 pins 36 projecting through diagonal slots 37. This bar is normally retained in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for locking engagement with the fingers 33, by a tension spring 38 connected to the bar and the bot tom 11.

The bar 35 is shifted lengthwise and transversely of the tray bottom by means of a push button 39, projecting through the front wall 16, and connected on its inner end to a leaf spring 41 having one end welded to the inner surface of the wall 16. When the bar 35 is thus shifted, its extremities move away from the fingers 33, so that the wall 14 may swing outwardly. The flanges 32 engage the angle plates 22 when the wall has swungsubstantially ninety degrees, and the wall 14 is thus supported against further downward movement. The movement of the wall to its open position, upon release of the latch bar 35, is also facilitated by means of leaf springs 42, mounted on the adjacent screws 25 and posts 26, which project under and bear against the flanges 32 when the wall 14 is closed. Upon releasing the bar 35, the tension in the springs 42 exerts a thrust on the latch members 31, to impart swinging movement to the wall 14.

The tray contains a front compressor plate 51 and a back compressor or follower plate 52, both of which are mounted for combined pivotal and longitudinal movement. They are provided with latching mechanisms which engage when the plates are brought to an upright position, to compress and retain between them a group of ledger sheets and tabbedindex cards. the structure of these plates is fully described in my par ent application, and as such structure is not claimed herein, further detailed description will not be made. It will suflice to state that, in use, the plates 51 and 52 are released from the card stack, and are tilted and moved backwardly, so that the operator may have ready access to them. i

During the manipulation of the cards, it is very helpful to gain access to them from the side, as well as the top. The drop leaf construction above described is provided for that purpose. The operator simply pushes the button 39, conveniently disposed on the front of the tray, which releases the drop side 14, permitting it to swing down to a horizontal position in line with the bottom of the cards. The side may be readily swung back into'upright latched position when the tray is returned to its storage file.

It will be noted that the releasing and latch mechanism is substantially concealed within the tray, and therefore cannot catch the cards or otherwise interfere with satisfactory use, and that the mechanism, while simple, is positive in action.

While the invention claimed herein has been described with respect to a single embodiment, it is intended to encompass all those equivalents and modifications which fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A posting tray having a bottom, side and end walls, a hinge between one of the side walls and the bottom for pivotally mounting said side wall, spaced inverted channels mounted on the bottom and along the side walls, a shiftable latch bar mounted beneath the channel adjacent Inasmuch as.

nsema the pivoted side wall, a movable control button extending through one of the end walls and provided with means within the tray engaging the latch barto shift the same when the buttdnis'"acti1aree;' 1atch Qtscefinected' to the pivotally mounted side wall'adjaenttiieends thereof; latch fingersfor r'nehfcn thel'ath plates ad spending to adjacentsaidbo ttom aiidin latching ngag rlir'it with the latch bar'when? the pivoted side wall air u right pest tibia; and resilient means connected to; the latch bar and the'bo'ttom for nbnnally esirioning'the latch bar ape-siti'dn to interngagewith the ltCh fil'l glS when the pivoted side wallis maven-wan uprightpesitien. v

2 A {sank-g ray as set -whei'n at "the-latch ates fonaea with mag-seaweeiii; spring fie'afis" secured 6h 1561:6151 Be- 15 1,881,476

' into said plane of the latch plate, said flange projecting over and engaging said spring means when the pivoted side wall is in an upright position to impose stress on said spring means, whereby said spring means will bias the side wall into outward position -when the latch bar is operated to disengage from the latch fingers, said flange also being sopositioned on said latch plate as to engage the 'trai adjacent l'th'e" end Wall fo sroviuea liihited strip: References Cited in theiile of this patent when v 

